Friday, June 23, 2017

I have a new "Gary Ray" Facebook page for posting my videos, blog posts, and writing updates. There's a book coming at the end of the year and I've agreed to write a column for Wizards of the Coast. The first article is already done. I've got a lot going on and it makes sense to separate this stuff from my regular posts about my wonderful son and my beautiful Jeep. Or is it beautiful son and wonderful Jeep?

Why a Facebook page? I don't do Twitter, which is the best method for communicating with a vast number of people, so that means folks default to finding me on my personal Facebook page, a very limiting thing. I've got a couple hundred followers and about 450 friends, most of whom are game trade acquaintances. I know my content is extremely niche and I'm not pretending to be some sort of rock star, but this should help sort my electronic life.

The down side to a page versus a group, is Facebook monetizes pages. That means you'll want to set it for See First in your news feed.

As I don't make squat writing or making videos, there's no ad budget to promote this page. So, something I almost never ask, please tell your friends!

Monday, June 19, 2017

Thursday, June 1, 2017

The game trade eats its young. It's a painful realization that the mechanisms of the trade are designed around the pump and dump, the acquisition of new product dumped out as quickly as possibly to anyone who cares, so the lever can arc upwards once again for the next pump. Publishers are impeded from building long term businesses as their product life cycle is measured in months rather than years. They can have good intentions, solid sales policies, but there are bad actors at both the retail and distribution tiers that undermine their efforts.

So today Asmodee exerted control over the process by consolidating with Alliance, the biggest game distributor. When your product is devalued in the marketplace, it loses long term viability and sales begin to fall. When you try to maintain that value through policy yet you still see your suppliers selling to companies that devalue product on release, be it to Amazon or Cool Stuff, it's reasonable to consolidate suppliers to a single, capable, trusted agent, ensuring long term viability.

Will they sell less product? Probably in the short run. They know that. Will it maintain long term profitability for the company? Absolutely, as the brand value is retained and the product life cycle preserved. Will it hurt game stores? The inefficiency and slop in the system benefits retailers, no doubt. We have multiple suppliers sitting on stockpiles of multiple products allowing us to pick and choose our just-in-time inventory at our whim. Without slop, product will be harder to acquire and possibly at a lower margin. So yes, it's not good for retailers who think short term, but what about long term?

Maintaining strict control of supply maintains brand value and increases long term viability. This rewards stores that build community around these games. It rewards stores who forecast sales and order accordingly, a skill made even more complex without the exhaust valve of the Internet (because of publisher policies). This all works to maintain brand value and increase sales for everyone, provided you have skills. If you don't have skills, if you don't pre order, if you don't forecast and budget, if you don't build community, if you can't dial in your purchasing without dumping on the Internet, well you're kinda screwed. But I'm alright with that. This trade has a barrier to entry lower than a snake full of buckshot. That low barrier to entry allowed bad actors to get us to where we are today.

This is the point where customers bemoan their inability to purchase deeply discounted games. I have to ask, could this possibly benefit you as well? Is it not possible that you too are the victim of the pump and dump? Are your X-Wing ships collecting dust? Does your game store shy away from running all but cardboard related events? Do you have games still in the shrink wrap on the shelf because you've been convinced to hold a giant bucket for the pump and dump? Perhaps your so-called "investment," is actually more valuable when the pump is given a rest.